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Question: Asked by Diogo from portugal | Jul. 15, 2019 06:15

About:240-hour Visa-free Transit in Beijing, Tianjin & Hebei

Amsterdam - Beijing - Sydney. 144h visa

I am portuguese and I will be flying to BJ. I arrive at 05/09/19 at 6am and my next flight will be on the 11/09/19 at 11:45pm. So the total time would be 160h which is longer than the 144h. However since I arrive at 5am and apparently the visa starts at midnight of following day after the arrival time, the total time would be 143hours and 45 minutes (under the 144h limit). And I would be at the airport at least 3 hours before which would reduce to 140h. Am I am eligible to the 144h free visa?

Thanks in advance,
Diogo Canelas

Reply

Answers (5): Answered by Diogo | Jul. 15, 2019 12:02

0 0 Reply

Thank you for your answer. That's good news. So, the number of hours will stop counting by the time we pass the security check at the airport, before flying to the next destination?

Am I safe if the flight is delayed?

0 0 Reply; Answered by Diogo | Jul. 15, 2019 18:31

0 0 Reply

Thank you so much CDKING. I contacted the Chinese embassy in my country regarding my situation and they just replied that "Since your stay will be longer than 144 hours, you are not eligible to the free visa. Where can I find the official information, that clearly says that the time starts counting after midnight of the following day, so I can forward to them?

Thanks in advance,
Diogo

0 0 Reply; Answered by CDKING | Jul. 15, 2019 10:12

0 0 Reply

You are fine for the 144 hour (6 day) transit without visa since your flight is scheduled to depart before midnight.

0 0 Reply; Answered by ZUPAN | Jul. 15, 2019 14:05

0 0 Reply

Yes, you are.

0 0 Reply; Answered by CDKING | Jul. 15, 2019 15:13

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Its based on scheduled departure and not when you clear immigration or when the plane actually takes off. There are protocols in place if flight gets cancelled or delayed. Its to prevent people from booking a later flight and going through security a day early as a way to circumvent the maximum stay

0 0 Reply

Amsterdam - Beijing - Sydney. 144h visa